Rosewood Summer
by GorgeousLadyDi
Summary: Summer vacations start, and Santana decides to spend them with her parents in Lima, even though her parents have a different idea. They all end up going to Rosewood, where Santana meets Emily. Both girls get along well, and what started as a friendship soon turns into something more... / I'm not good at summaries... This will have all the girls and obviously messages from A.
1. Chapter 1

Summer had arrived and Santana had returned to Lima for vacations, only to find out her parents had already planned their vacations. The day after Santana's arrival, they informed her they'd be going to Rosewood, PA that year. Santana googled the place and concluded it seemed nice, so she agreed, even though she would go anyways. It had been about a year since she and Brittany broke up, though it still hurt her… A lot. She had come to Lima for a simple reason: Kurt and Rachel went there as well, and Santana didn't want to be alone all summer, in New York. Even if that meant she had to see Brittany again…

Her bags were at the door (she didn't even had time to unpack them). She kindly asked her father to take them to the car, with the excuse that she was too tired from the plane. Her dad did so, and with all the bags in the car, they were ready to go. As soon as she entered the car, she put her earphones on, turning up the music and falling asleep a few minutes later. The brunette slept for 7 hours straight, to her parents' surprise. She only woke up for the final 2 hours of the trip. Once she was fully awake, she noticed her phone was buzzing. As she unlocked it, she saw there were two missed calls from Rachel, along with four texts. Santana groaned, already annoyed by her friend. 'Why can't you just leave me alone?' she thought before checking the texts.

Received (07:01): Why aren't you answering the phone?  
Received (07:13): Santana, where are you?  
Received (07:20): Okay, I'll stop trying because I bet you're asleep, so you'll see this whenever you wake up. I was walking with my dads today and I saw Brittany… She's still with Sam… But she really misses you, San! You're still her best friend, you know?  
Received (07:29): Just… please call me whenever you can, okay?

Santana felt her heart sinking. Her face went blank for a moment, though she quickly changed her expression, scared her parents would notice anything. She grabbed her phone and texted Rachel back.

Sent (10:15): Hey Dwarf, I was sleeping. I'm going to Rosewood for vacations. I don't want to hear about Britts, okay? I'm over it. I'll arrive in a few; I'll call you tomorrow though. Bye.

The brunette shoved her phone back into her purse, wanting to forget what happened. She stared out the window for the rest of the way, and as they arrived to Rosewood, Santana's eyes widened – this is not the kind of place she was used to. The houses were beautiful, with huge gardens and backyards, most of them having flowers and trees surrounding them. Her dad parked the car in front of one of those houses.

"We arrived, mi hija" her mom said, looking at Santana with a smile. The brunette was still in shock. She was going to live in that house for the following two and a half months. Santana was on the edge of her seat. She could only imagine how the house looked from inside…

"You rented this house?" she asked, wanting to know whether she was dreaming or not. Her father responded with a proud nod. Santana rushed to open the car's door, wanting to see the house closely. Her parents hid the amusement in their faces caused by their daughter's reaction to the house. Santana didn't want to know how or why they got the house, she was just glad they did.

Her parents left the car as well, starting to get the bags off the trunk. Santana's father gave her the keys to the house, letting her be the one to open it. The brunette did so, rushing herself to the door and opening it. Her jaw dropped once she saw the house looked even bigger from the inside, the kitchen, living room and bathroom being on the first floor, while the rooms where on the second. As her mom placed her bags by her side, Santana came back to reality. "Take them up, to the room" she said, and so she did. The room was huge, matching the rest of the house, and it had a window turned to her neighbor's room, which didn't really please Santana, because she liked her privacy. Whomever lived in the house seemed not to be there anyways, so Santana decided to start putting everything in place.

After about 30 minutes of organizing the drawers and the closet, Santana was done. Everything was in place, and she had the entire afternoon for herself. Her parents had been doing the same thing she was, though taking twice the time due to their conversation. The brunette left her phone charging in the bedroom, and rushed out of it. She passed through her parents' room, asking them permission to take a walk.

"Be back for lunch." Her father warned.

"Relax, I'll just walk around to see the place and meet the neighbor's, okay?" she said. Santana was wearing jean shorts and a white and grey hoodie, her hair being pulled in a high pony tail. With her hands in her pockets, she left the house and almost bumped into another girl at the porch.

The girl was quite tall. She had long, dark, wavy hair that fell over her shoulders and brown eyes, and her face portrayed a welcoming smile.

"I'm so sorry!" Santana apologized to the girl who didn't seem bothered at all.

She shrugged it off and once again smiled kindly. "Apology taken." She said with a giggle, offering Santana a hand. "I'm Emily. Emily Fields."

"Santana." She rushed to reply. "Santana Lopez. Nice to meet you, Emily."

Santana couldn't stop to notice how beautiful the taller brunette was. She was wearing jean shorts too, though with a red top with a low shoulder and black boots. Santana also noticed she had a basket in her hand, filled with chocolates, cupcakes, a bottle of wine, along with some other things. Emily shifted nervously in her place – she too noticed how beautiful Santana was. Both traded looks for a while, Emily almost forgetting what she was there for.

"You live there?" Santana was the one breaking the silence, pointing at the house behind Emily. As the tall girl nodded, Santana lost herself in thoughts. 'So _this_ is my neighbor…'

Emily finally came back to herself, remembering why she was there. "So, my mom wanted me to bring you this." she said as she looked over to the basket. "To welcome you to the neighborhood."

"Aw, thanks, you didn't have to." Santana said as she received the basket. Their hands touched for only a matter of seconds, but she couldn't let go unnoticed how warm Emily was.

"Are you moving here, or…?" Emily felt the need to ask, looking over the house.

Santana shook her head. "Just for the Summer." She replied.

"Oh…" the tall brunette said, sounding quite disappointed. "Well, anyways, my mom also wanted to invite you and your family for a welcome dinner." She said growing more confident.

"I'll have to check with my parents first, but I think its okay…" she admitted. "Come with me."

The brunette held the basket with both hands – it was heavier than it seemed – and stepped back inside the house, Emily following her closely. As soon as she passed the entrance door, Emily started to feel a little weird. Everything looked the same, yet, at the same time, so different… How was it even possible? She'd been there so many times… She stood awkwardly by the door, as Santana called her parents who quickly came downstairs.

"Hey, this is Emily, our neighbor… Her mom invited us for a welcome dinner." Santana said, handing the basket to her mom.

Emily waved shyly. "Hi, nice to meet you." She said, offering her hand for a handshake, which Santana's parents took.

"We don't want to bother…" Maribel said, as she took the basket to the kitchen.

"You won't." Emily smiled. "Please? My mom and I insist."

"Well…" Mrs. Lopez said, looking at Mr. Lopez who gave her a 'if they don't mind…' expression. "Okay then." She smiled.

Emily had a smile from ear to ear, her nerves having completely left her. "Great! Can you be there at 7pm, please?"

"Sure sweetheart." Maribel said "Now if you excuse us, we'll finish cleaning the house… It was a pleasure to meet you." Once those words were said, Santana's parents went back upstairs, leaving the two girls alone, once again.

"Sorry about my parents…" Santana said as she met Emily by the door.

"What're you talking about, they're so nice!" the tall girl said, still smiling. They stood at the porch, neither having a thing to say. "I'm going home now… My mom must need help… It was nice to meet you, Santana. I have a feeling you're going to fit right in here and have a great time." She said, smiling shyly as she waved goodbye and returned to her house.

Santana had a half-smile on, as she looked at the girl going away. "Yes we are." She said quietly, returning to her house after Emily got in hers. The brunette made her way back to her bedroom, getting the phone she'd left charging. She laid in bed, stomach down, and checked it. She had another text from Rachel, which she chose to ignore and another from an anonymous source. The brunette raised an eyebrow as she opened the message.

Received (2:15): Seems like there's a new girl in Rosewood. You have some secrets of your own, don't you Santana? If you want to keep them secret, stay away from Emily. Hope you have a wonderful summer! – A.

The Latina felt her scared all of the sudden. Who was this A? How did she know? How did she have Santana's number? Santana felt herself being watched, and sat herself on the bed. As she looked outside the window, all she could see was Emily cleaning her own room.


	2. Chapter 2

Emily's house was big, though more decorated than her neighbor's. She made her way to the kitchen, where her mom was waiting for her. Pam Fields is the kind of supporting mother who does all she can to make sure her family is safe and united. She always manages to find time for her daughter, no matter how busy her schedule is, and lately she was in charge of welcoming everyone that moved to Rosewood.

"Mom, I'm back." Emily said, making her way to her mom. She kissed her mom's forehead, Pam already working on the dinner.

"So, how are the new neighbors?" Pam asked with a smile. "They're coming, right?"

"Yes, they are, mom." Emily replied, pulling a chair and sitting on it. "They're really nice, actually… They have a daughter about my age, so I think we'll have fun together." She smiled.

"That's great." Her mother said kindly. "Can you go clean your room, now? I don't want this house to look a mess when they arrive."

"Sure" Emily nodded. She was the hyper-obedient kind of daughter, following everything her mom told her. The tall brunette made her way to her bedroom, and started cleaning it. She glanced over her window and looked at her neighbor who was looking at her phone. Emily smiled gently, feeling herself blushing. She returned to cleaning her room. She made her bed, took the trash out, picked up all her clothes, fixed the pillows, arranged every single thing on her desk, and by the end of it, she could swear her room never looked cleaner.

When she was finished, she looked at her clock. 6pm. She decided she had time for a quick shower, which she took in the next 15 minutes. She got dressed, now wearing a pair of jeans, boots, a black shirt and a grayish cascading zip vest. She made her way downstairs, setting the table as her mom finished dinner. Everything was ready 5 minutes before their neighbors rang the bell. Pam fixed her hair and dress right before opening the door, wanting to cause a good impression on her new neighbors.

They too wanted to cause a good impression, since everyone had changed their clothes as well. Santana was now wearing a black dress with some flowers on it, a leather jacket, a pink headband with a bow and black platform heels, with a diamond pattern along the heel. Maribel too had a dress, quite similar to Pam's one, which led both women to think the other had a great taste. Mr. Lopez had changed his t-shirt to a white shirt which was beneath a black suit. Each introduced themselves as Mrs. Fields invited them in and Emily directed them to the dining room.

Emily noticed Santana felt quite uncomfortable, sort of like Emily felt when she entered the DiLaurentis' house – or should she say the _Lopez'_ house? The brunette portrayed a worried expression, though Emily chose to ignore it, thinking it was because she felt uncomfortable in a stranger's house. Everyone gathered at the table, dinner already on it. Mr. and Mrs. Lopez sat at the top of the table, Mrs. Fields sitting across from them, leaving the young girls sitting at the end, facing each other. Pam gave the order to start eating, and everyone did. Emily could feel that the interrogatory about to start.

"So, where are you from?" Mrs. Fields asked. "If I can ask…"

"We're actually from Lima, Ohio." Mrs. Lopez smiled. "You've always lived here?" Maribel asked.

Pam nodded. "What do you work on?"

"I'm a secretary." Maribel replied with a smile.

"And I'm a doctor." Her husband added, being quiet for most of the dinner.

They seemed to be having fun, and what might have looked like an interrogatory started to look like a questions game, now. The only ones who seemed not to be having any fun were the girls, who had been quiet since dinner started.

"Mom, can we go to my room?" Emily questioned once she noticed everyone had already finished their food.

Santana raised an eyebrow. '_We?_' she thought. '_As in both of us?_ _Way to go, Santana, staying away from her just like that John Doe told you to do so…_'

"Sure sweetheart, you can go." Pam smiled. It'd been a while since Emily made actual friends, so it felt nice to see her daughter talking with someone other than her usual group.

The girls got up, leaving the table and making their way upstairs, to Emily's room. Both remained quiet, Santana following Emily hesitatingly as they entered the room. The room looked kind of like Santana's – it had light colors, along with several shades of green, a king sized bed by one of the walls, a small sofa, a desk placed under a window, and by the other window (the one turned to Santana's bedroom) there were a bunch of pillows, clearly being a place dedicated to reading. She had a corkboard filled with ribbons, as well as some photos, even though there were photos basically everywhere. As Santana looked over the pictures, she started to notice the people in them were always the same.

There was a blonde girl, who seemed to be about Quinn's size, maybe a bit taller. She had blue eyes and dressed pretty well, in Santana's opinion. Other of the girls was pretty tall – about the same height as Emily. She had long, brown hair, and a really white skin. All Santana could think about the way she dressed was 'Improved Rachel Berry'. There was another girl, the smallest of them all. She didn't seem to be any taller than Rachel. She too had long, brown hair and hazel eyes. '_Everyone in here dresses ridiculously well…_' Santana thought, still scanning the pictures in the walls and frames. Her eyes met another blonde girl. The pictures with her seemed older than the others… Santana wondered what happened to her… With all this, Emily was sitting on her bed, looking at the brunette who was entertained by her photos.

"Is there anything wrong?" Emily felt the need to ask. Santana's worried expression still hadn't left her, and it was starting to concern Emily too.

As soon as Santana heard the question, she turned around and forced the expression to leave, replacing it for a tiny smile. "Yes, why do you ask?"

"You seem worried about something…" Emily said quietly.

Santana turned back to the photos, grabbing one of them. "They're your friends?" Santana said, sitting by Emily's side.

Emily looked up to Santana's face for a couple of seconds, her eyes then meeting the picture in the girls' hands. "Yeah" Emily smiled at the picture. "This is Hanna…" she pointed at the blonde with blue eyes. "…Spencer…" her finger moved on to the tall girl. "…Aria…" she was now pointing at the smaller girl. "…and that's Alison…" Emily said, her voice lowering its tone a bit.

Santana smiled. "You girls seem like great friends." She said, getting up to put the picture back in place.

"Yeah, we are…" Emily smiled back. "Look, there's something I think I should tell you…" She said, looking up to Santana. "You're going to find out sooner or later, and I guess it'd be better to hear it from me…"

Santana raised an eyebrow, looking over to Emily who seemed really nervous. She crossed her arms and stood there, leaning against the furniture, waiting for Emily to continue.

"Alison, well… She used to live in your house, and…" Emily had to take a big breathe to finish her sentence. "She died…" she said, the last word coming out in an almost inaudible tone.

Santana's eyes widened in surprise. She did not see that coming. "She _died_?" Santana repeated, feeling quite sorry for Emily.

"Well, she was murdered, actually…" Emily replied, shifting nervously in her place.

Santana's mouth only didn't drop to her feet because she didn't want to seem rude. She could notice Emily was pretty shaken up by her friend's death. As she had nothing good to say, she walked over to Emily and sat back in bed with her, rubbing her back gently. She felt pretty bad about it… Plus, she could feel the pressure of that 'A' person knowing about her secret… '_Should I tell, or not?_' she asked herself, over and over…

"Well…" Santana started, growing nervous. "Since we're going to spend all summer together, I have a confession to make…" she said. "And I feel like I have to say it now, because I'm afraid we can't keep being friends if you're not okay with it, and that'd piss me off because I really can't stand to be here for three months and not talking to anyone…"

It was turn for Emily's eyes to widen – what could she possibly be talking about? It seemed like a pretty big deal… Emily felt somewhat scared, all of the sudden, as she nodded for Santana to keep talking.

Santana sighed and let it out. "I'm gay. I just… it's what I am, it's who I'll always be, and honestly if people don't like me that way, fuck them. I love myself the way I am, and there's nothing people can say or do to change me, and…" Santana had gotten up, rambling around Emily's room. Her speech came to an end when she felt Emily's hands on her shoulder, stopping her from walking around. She turned to face the brunette, and instead of a mad face, she met a heartfelt, non-judgmental smile.

"What?" Santana said, looking at Emily. The entire situation made no sense, at all, to her. Was she going nuts? For a moment she sure thought she was.

"It's okay, Santana." Emily smiled, her hands having left Santana's shoulders, and herself now being near a shelf of photos Santana hadn't noticed until then. Emily started to take some of the photos out. "This is Paige." She smiled. "She was my girlfriend." Emily said, to Santana's surprise, and picked up another photo. "And this is Maya…" Emily said, growing a bit sadder. "She died too…" she sighed. "Alison and I kind of had something going on too…" Emily admitted. "It was complicated… Let me tell you something, Santana…" Emily said, approaching the brunette once again. Santana had already calmed down, and was stood quietly, listening to Emily. "No one here will judge you… No one here will make fun of you, or get away from you just because you play for the other team…" she smiled. "Trust me."

Santana felt such relief, after Emily told her that. She cleaned her almost teary eyes and hugged Emily, to her surprise. The hug didn't last more than just a couple of seconds, because honestly Santana felt it started to be a little weird. They smiled at each other for a bit, Santana laughing because of how she looked like – her face had gotten all puffy and red from the few tears that had escaped her eyes. Emily smiled comfortingly, as she pulled out a board game from under her bed. "You know how to play "Snakes and Ladders?"."


	3. Chapter 3

"You might just want to give up while you still got the chance Emily Fields because I'm about to kick your ass." Santana and Emily had been playing 'Snakes and Ladders' for ages now, and Santana was about to win. She was only 5 houses away from the finish line, while Emily still had 12 to go.

"I wouldn't be celebrating already, if I were you…" Emily said, honestly feeling like Santana would win, but not wanting to let it show. Like every other girl, she hated to lose. She threw the dice, and was now only 6 houses away from winning.

"Well, get ready then." An overly confident Santana said. She picked up the dice, sure she was about to win the game. "Santana is going to win…" She threw them, and to her surprise and Emily's happiness, she got a 3… This meant she'd take a snake all the way down on the board. "What?! No! Fuck! This isn't fair!" Santana complained while Emily laughed in her face.

Emily too threw the dice. She could swear she could hear Santana praying for her to fail. Once the dice stopped, she looked over them. A perfect 6. Santana shook her head in disbelief while Emily teased her. "Who won, really?" she said, turning to Santana.

"I officially hate you." Santana said, though she couldn't hide the smile that refused to leave her face. The girls put the game back in the box, and the box back under the bed. Santana pointed at the ribbons in Emily's corkboard. "You earned these?" she questioned the brunette.

Emily looked up to Santana and smiled. "Yeah… I'm a swimmer." She said, proudly. Santana sat near her, once again.

The small brunette raised an eyebrow. "A swimmer, uh?" She said. '_You sure have the body…_' she decided to keep the thought to herself. "We have a swim team in our school too, though it's not really my thing." She shrugged.

"Well, what's your thing, then?" Emily asked, looking at Santana's face as she expected an answer. She was fascinated by her. Everything Santana said sounded like the most interesting thing in the world, to her.

Santana wasn't quite sure if she should answer or not, though… Although she loved singing and dancing, she still had a hard time telling people that's what she does, and wants to do for the rest of her life. "To tell you that, I have to tell you the story of my life." Santana giggled. "So... Though I'm from Lima, I actually live in New York now, with the most annoying friends you can imagine having… We met in high school, because we were all in a Glee Club…" Santana admitted shyly. "So yeah, music and dance are kind of my things. I'm in NYADA now, and I actually love it."

Emily's eyes widened a bit, not because of the info she just received, but because she realized Santana was actually a couple of years older than her. She suddenly felt like a baby. "That's great." She smiled. "So, that means that you can sing, right?" Santana nodded. "You're going to have to sing for me, someday." Emily said, giggling.

Santana smiled back at her, and just as they finished their conversation, there was a knock on the door. "Santana, time to go home!" she heard her mother say from the other side. Santana sighed heavily – she really didn't want to leave.

And Emily noticed it. "Look, the girls and I are hanging out, tomorrow…" she said. "Would you like to come with us?"

"I'm not sure… I don't even know them…" Santana said, growing shy.

"Well, you'll never know them until you know them, right?" Emily said with a smile.

"You have a point…" Santana admitted. "I'll go, then." The brunette smiled as she got up and started walking towards the door. Emily got up and followed her downstairs, where they met their parents at the porch.

"So, I guess I'll see you tomorrow." Emily smiled and Santana turned around.

The brunette smiled. "Yeah." She said, as she and her parents started walking towards their house, waving at Emily and her mom. "It was nice to meet you, Mrs. Fields!"

"It was really nice to meet you too!" Pam replied, returning to her house, Emily following her.

"Mom, I'm going to bed now, okay?" She asked her mother who allowed her to. Emily went upstairs, to her room. She closed the door and started changing into her pajamas. She grabbed her phone and jumped to bed. As she went through her contacts, she reached Hanna Marin's and texted her.

Sent (11:05): Hey Han! My neighbor is coming with us, tomorrow, okay?  
Received (11:06): The girl you told us about?  
Sent (11:07): Who else could it be, Hanna? Of course it's the girl I told you about!  
Received (11:08): Well, okay then. Talk with you tomorrow! Bye!  
Sent (11:09): Bye!

Emily put her phone on her nightstand and smiled herself to sleep. She was glad everything between her and her new friend was okay. She couldn't stop thinking about her. About introducing her to her friends. About doing things with her. Showing her around… It sure would be a great summer.

* * *

Santana woke up early that morning. She needed to be ready, in case Emily showed up, since she had forgotten to ask the time they'd be going out. The brunette took a quick shower, spending the next half an hour styling her hair. She put on her green and black dress with a yellow jacket, knee-high black socks and also black heeled boots. Santana looked at herself in the mirror and smirked – she looked gorgeous. Even though she didn't want to admit it, she was hoping she'd impress Emily's friends. They all dressed so well, she wanted to be on the same level as them. Ultimately, she wanted to fit in Rosewood.

She was sitting in her bed when her phone started ringing. She grabbed it and looked at it, groaning when she saw Rachel's name – or should I say 'Dwarf'? Santana rolled her eyes before answering the phone.

"Hey dwarf." She said. "What do you want?"

"Hi Santana!" Rachel said, completely ignoring Santana's 'good' mood. "You said you'd call, and as you didn't, I did…"

"Rachel, it's not even 9am here, I had all day to call you." She sighed.

"Where are you, really?" the small brunette asked.

"In Rosewood… My parents rented a house here, and this is where I'll stay all summer." Santana replied, laying stomach down on her bed, facing the window. It was a nice day.

"Rosewood…" Rachel repeated. "As in, Pennsylvania?"

Santana nodded, even though Rachel couldn't see her. "Yes, that's the place, why?"

"Don't you watch the news? People keep being murdered, in there!" Rachel sounded concerned.

"Yeah, I know." Santana said. "Emily told me."

The small brunette's voice had now changed, and her concerned tone was replaced. "Emily, uh?" she questioned. Santana rolled her eyes once again. Even without seeing Rachel, she knew she had a stupid smirk on. "Who's Emily?"

"My neighbor." She replied harshly. "Quit making things in your head."

"Is she hot?" Rachel asked. "Do you like her?"

That was it… Even miles away, Rachel still managed to annoy Santana to the max. "Mind your business, Berry. And call me when you have actual things to talk about." Santana hung up on Rachel's face, leaving the diva talking by herself.

Santana went downstairs, where her mother had already started making breakfast. The smell of fresh bacon and eggs could be sensed in the other side of the town, and Santana could feel her stomach asking for food. She kissed her mom in the cheek, then moving towards the table and pulling a chair. Her mom placed a plate in front of her, and once the food was ready, she placed it there too. The Latina ate all of it – she lately had gotten addicted to bacon, thanks to one Miss Quinn Fabray.

She had just finished eating when she heard the bell rang. She almost jumped off her chair, as she rushed to open the door. On the other side of the door, there was Emily – today wearing a pair of jeans, black boots, a white shirt and black vest, with a black and golden studded bracelet – , and a girl she recognized from the pictures in Emily's room. Hanna, right? The blonde was wearing a black skirt – really short, in Santana's opinion, but who was she to talk about short clothes? She had some sandals which the brunette adored, a greenish, bluish shirt and a black blazer.

"Hi!" Santana said with a smile. "You must be Hanna, nice to meet you." She said as she offered a hand for a hand shake.

"I see Emily told you about me!" Hanna smiled as she shook the Latina's hand. "Nice to meet you too, Santana."

"Can you excuse me for a minute? I left my phone upstairs… I'll be right back." Santana said. As she disappeared, Hanna turned to face Emily.

"What?" Emily asked her friend. The swimmer was blushing, as she noticed that her friend Hanna had a smile on her face – a smile that she knew pretty well.

"You forgot to mention that your 'neighbor' is actually a hottie!" the blonde giggled, causing Emily to blush even more.

"Shut up, Hanna" she replied, shaking her head. Emily loved her best friend, but sometimes she talked too much.

"You're blushing! – Oh my god, you're crushing on her, aren't you?" Han asked. She wasn't exactly known for minding her own business.

"Hanna, please, not now…" Emily said to her friend.

Santana came downstairs, joining the girls once again. "So, where are we going?" She asked, closing the door behind her. She walked with the girls to Hanna's car, Hanna taking the driver's seat, Emily the passenger's and Santana going in the back seats.

Hanna turned to Emily. "To Spencer's?" she asked.

"To Spencer's." Emily confirmed.


	4. Chapter 4

The girls arrived at Spencer's house. Hanna and Santana spent the entire trip singing along with the radio, which seemed to have a preference for Rihanna. At the same time, Emily tried to contain her laughter, caused by Hanna's off-key singing. She had nothing to complain about Santana though, because even though the Latina's voice was barely audible – being mixed with the radio and Hanna's voice – she could still hear her.

Spencer and Aria were at the porch, watching as Hanna parked the car on the driveway. The three girls exited the shiny grey Mercedes, and went over to the other two girls to greet them. Santana was right behind Emily, being the last to greet Spencer and Aria. The girls were complete opposes in height – Spencer was even taller than what she appeared to be in the photos, and Aria seemed to have stopped growing. Now that they were close, Santana could confirm it – she was really Rachel's size.

"Hi girls, this is Santana." Emily smiled as she introduced her friend. "San, this is Aria and Spencer." She said, even though Santana had already recognized them from the photos.

"Hey, nice to meet you! Emily told us a lot about you." Spencer said as she greeted the brunette, causing Emily to blush. Santana, however, didn't seem bother at all – in fact she actually liked that Emily had told them about her. That meant she was thinking of her, at some point, right?

"I'm glad she did" Santana admitted after hugging Aria and Spencer. It was kind of awkward to hug someone she didn't even know, though she had a feeling they'd all become great friends in no time.

Spencer invited the girls in, and as everyone entered the house, Santana couldn't stop noticing that it was bigger than hers or Emily's. As Spencer led everyone to the kitchen – they usually stayed there, since they weren't allowed to eat on the living room – Santana couldn't let go unnoticed the barn, which was half the size the house, and still pretty big. Each of the girls grabbed a stool as they sat around the large marble counter, and obviously Santana did the same.

"Anyone wants anything?" Spencer inquired as she started to make a cup – more like a mug – of coffee for herself. Even though the girl said no, Spencer placed a bowl of chips in the counter. She was sure that by the end of their meeting the chips wouldn't be there.

"So Santana, I heard you're from Ohio." Spencer started. Santana could feel that the interrogatory was about to start… Though this time she had some questions too.

"Yeah, I grew up in there, though now I live in New York." She said, sitting straighter. The Latina reached for the chips bowl and Spencer held a tiny smile.

"New York?" Hanna tilted her head, sipping some of the juice Spencer had just poured into her glass. "You're serious?! I'd never been there; I have to go sometime… Is it nearly as great as people say it is?"

"Better, actually" Santana smiled. "And you should really come. I have the most annoying roommates in the universe, but I can totally kick them out." She joked.

"You're in a performing arts school, right?" was Aria's turn to question.

Santana nodded. "Yeah, it's kind of my thing." She smiled.

Aria's eyes somewhat brightened. "I actually love to sing." She confessed. "And I can play the guitar."

"That's pretty cool, actually!" The brunette smiled. "I can't play anything, well… Happy Birthday on the piano doesn't count." She giggled. "Besides that, the only thing I can play is a song me and a couple friends made to make fun of another friend."

In the meantime, Emily watched the girls quietly, amused at how well they bonded. It was a pretty big deal to all of them, since it had been a long time since any of the girls had a new friend. Though, they all knew better than to start spilling their secrets – there was already a lot of people involved, and Emily didn't want Santana to be a part of this. She had already lost Maya and Paige; she didn't need to lose Santana as well. The swimmer remained quiet for most of the conversation, since all the questions she could have asked were already answered when Santana went to her place.

The girls kept chatting. Santana had a little feeling that the girls already knew she played for the other team… She didn't felt angry, though. She now understood what Emily meant when she said 'No one here will judge you'. She hadn't spent twenty minutes with the girls and she already felt like she belonged. They had so much in common with her and reminded her so much of her friends… Spencer was smart, Quinn kind of smart. Hanna was funny, and somehow reminded her of Brittany, which made her a bit sad… Aria was like an improved – no… _very_ improved – version of Rachel and Emily was just like her.

After their chat – and after the chips were gone – Spencer showed Santana her house, and all the girls ended up going to her backyard. They sat back on the chaise longue, soaking up the sun. As everything went silent, Santana felt that her questions wanted to come out, and decided not to hold them any longer.

"You were friends with that Alison girl, weren't you?" she asked the girls, hoping she didn't sound noisy or rude.

Santana's question came out of the blue, and their bodies stiffened as soon as they heard the name. There was not a day that passed without any hearing or thinking about Alison – it was a fact. No one could forget her, especially the girls. Not even if they wanted to.

"Yes." Spencer was the one to answer. "We were."

Everything went quiet for a half a minute, after. Santana started to feel like she shouldn't have brought that up. "I'm sorry I asked…" she said. As soon as she did so, her phone rang. The girls' eyes widened, as they felt their mouths getting dry.

"What if that's…?" Hanna whispered to Emily, who cut her off.

"It's not." Emily replied as quietly, shaking her head slightly. Even though her words were strong, she had a concerned look on.

Santana too had drained out of color. She reached for her purse and took her phone out, sighing in relief when she saw who was calling her. Quinn Fabray. "I'm going to take this call, girls." The Latina said as she got up and went inside.

The girls traded looks. They all had noticed how concerned Santana seemed when the phone bleeped. They recognized that expression – damn, they lived it. Emily started putting the pieces together. _Maybe_, that was why Santana looked so worried, last night. _Maybe_, the person that had been haunting them found a new prey… Or _maybe_, they had just gotten paranoid. They didn't say anything – because they didn't need to. Their looks all said '_should we ask something?_' But then again, what if they were wrong… They'd have a hell lot to explain, if they were.

While that, Santana was in the kitchen. She had answered the phone and was talking with her long time friend, Quinn. They'd been friends since they could remember, even though a lot had already happened between them. It was sort of like a sisters' relationship – it had its ups and downs. Like that one time Quinn told their coach Santana had a boob job, over summer and Santana beat the living crap out of her – not that Quinn didn't fight back. Or that other time, this one more recent, when Quinn had told her she had an affair with a married teacher and Santana started insulting her. The blonde slapped her pretty hard, though, obviously, Santana did the same. Looking back, Santana did regret most thing she'd called Quinn, though wouldn't admit it.

"Santana? Hi!" Quinn said excitingly. "I heard you're in Rosewood." Just by the tone on her voice, Santana could see Quinn was smiling. "Everything's fine?"

"Hey Quinn" Santana asked, smiling as well. She missed her voice. "Yeah, I am, and everything's great, actually. I was just chatting with some friends, how are you?"

"I'm great, too… Back home for vacations. You made friends already? That's great!" The blonde said.

"Yeah, everyone in here is pretty great, actually, I'm having a great time." The brunette said. "Also, it's hot as hell in here, is it like that in there too?" she questioned, feeling her legs gluing to the stool.

Quinn nodded "It is! It's impossible, I can't even go out…" she said as she looked over the window while lying in her bed. "Look, sorry I interrupted your chat, but I just kind of missed you… Everyone is in their houses and no one wants to come over." She sighed. "Not even Puck!"

"Well, maybe that's because you end up leaving him every single time." Santana shifted in her place, getting uncomfortable in the stool. Giving Quinn love advice never had the desired effect, so she wasn't quite sure why she even bothered to try. "And it's okay, Q. I always have time for my friends." She smiled.

The blonde smiled as well. "I'll let you go, then… See if you call me, sometime, okay? I don't want to spend the entire vacations without hearing a word from you! We should Skype when you get home…"

"That's a great idea, actually." Santana admitted. "I'll see you later, then… Bye, Q." She said, sending her a kiss over the phone.

"Bye San." Quinn said, returning the kiss.

Santana hung up and made her way back to the backyard, meeting the girls. All their heads turned to Santana as she passed through the glass door. They seemed like scared cats. Santana felt uneasy, again, as all eyes were on her. And then she noticed – all the girls had their phones with them. The screens' light was on, and the phones wouldn't stop buzzing. That was when she got it – she wasn't the only one receiving anonymous text messages. She stood awkwardly by the door, looking straight to everyone's face. She could only guess what the next topic of their conversation would be…

* * *

**AN:** Hello everyone! Sorry this took so long to update... I've been having school exams, though now I'm back! I appreciate all the reviews, and I would like to know what you think will happen in the next chapter. Hugs, and thank you!


	5. Chapter 5

Received (11:26): Too late to save her, dolls. I found a new toy! Let's see how much it'll take until I break it. – A

The text message was the same in all of the girls' phones. Santana was sitting next to Emily, looking somewhat confused with the entire situation as she read the text. She truly thought the A thing was a joke, but by the look in everyone's faces, she could see it really wasn't. All the girls looked as if they were thinking, and their concerned looks were starting to drive Santana crazy. That and the silence that had set in.

"Will someone please care to tell me what is happening?" she finally inquired, her voice coming out loud and annoyed. The girls looked up through their eyelashes, and then looked at each other wondering if they really should tell her.

Emily felt like she had a knot in her throat. She couldn't stop feeling that it was her fault – after all she was the one approaching Santana, inviting her in… She wanted to tell Santana everything, but as she turned to her, no words managed to escape her mouth. The swimmer was glad when her friend stepped in.

"So…" Aria started. "You know about that friend of ours, Alison?" the small girl asked.

"Yes…" Santana replied. "I heard that she was killed…"

Spencer continued. "We're not so sure of that, but anyways… Before they found her body, we started to receive strange messages and emails, regarding things only Alison knew… Our secrets."

"And obviously" Hanna stepped in "Alison knew all our secrets… She said they kept us close."

Emily managed to let out in a lower voice. "They certainly did… That's why we can't get rid of her." The taller brunette started to get annoyed and angry. _'I should seriously stop getting crushes on people…'_ she thought and sighed. _'Everyone I care about eventually gets hurt.'_

"Anyways…" Spencer kept on the conversation. "After Alison's funeral we kept receiving texts, emails and letters, and weird things started happening. That 'A' person was watching us all the time and knew everything we did… She actually saved our lives some times because, and I quote, 'This only ends when I say so'. Though she also managed to send some of our friends and relatives to far away from us…"

'_Wow'_ Santana thought. It was seriously a whole lot to digest… So, what did that mean, exactly? You know, the _'Let's see how much it'll take until I break it'_ thing… Was that A person going to hurt Santana, or kill her? Would she make her go away? Would she hurt someone she cared about…? A million questions flew around her head, and she noticed she was supporting herself on Emily. Emily had placed her arm around Santana's shoulder, and was rubbing the brunette's arms with her hands, calming her, even thought she was nervous herself.

Santana took a deep breath and fixed her dress, getting up. "So, what do we do now?" she questioning, looking to the girls.

It was time for them to get confused. What did she meant, _'what do we do now?'_ A normal person would get the hell out of Rosewood in no time, but then again, the girls seemed to attract everything _but _normal people.

"I'm not sure of what _we_ do, now…" Hanna said. "I think it's better if we just go home and tomorrow we'll think of something…" her stomach growled. "Especially since it's lunch time and my mom is waiting for me." She said, getting up and grabbing her car keys. She turned to face Santana and Emily. "Let's go, I'm your ride." She said, tinkling the keys.

* * *

Hanna dropped the two brunettes by their houses, and left to her own. Emily and Santana stood awkwardly at the driveway, neither saying a word. It was still too early for either to go home and have lunch, since their mothers allowed them to be out 'till whenever they felt like it. After a few seconds of silence, Emily turned to Santana.

"Santana, I need to talk to you." She said nervously. "Can we go somewhere else?" the tall brunette questioned.

Santana raised an eyebrow but nodded and started walking by Emily's side. She put her hands on her yellow jacket's pockets as they made their way down the street, quietly. A light breeze was flowing, to their happiness, since it was really hot. They kept walking in silence for a couple of minutes, both lost in thoughts… Santana still had a lot of questions about A she wanted answers for. They finally reached a place where there was some sort of woods, and Emily entered them, followed closely by Santana. Emily liked it there – it was quiet and private. They walked a little longer through a path until they stopped on a small clearing, where a tree was clearly cut off. A piece of the tree's trunk was still craved to the ground. Santana looked around – the light peered through the other tree's branches and leafs, coloring the place in all shades of green and yellow.

"Santana, I kind of want to talk to you…" Emily said, walking around the trunk. She was clearly nervous about what she was going to say. "Can you please sit?" The brunette finally said, motioning to the trunk. Santana did so, and the swimmer took a deep breath. "Santana, I think it's best for you to go back to Lima… For your own safety."

The Latina couldn't believe what she just heard. "What? There is _no way_ I'm going just because someone I don't even know is threatening me!"

"You don't get it! A does more than just threatening, she actually _hurts_ people, and I don't want you to get hurt or worse! She _killed_ people, Santana. And besides that, A is constantly playing mental games with us, testing how much we can take before we break. Spencer spent some time in a mental house because of that!"

"Why do you care, anyways? I _just_ came here, not two days ago." Santana sighed.

"I care because I care about _you_, Santana!" she admitted, frustration filling her voice. "Why is it so hard for you to get it? I just want you to be safe!" Emily cried out, remember how things turned out with Maya. Even though A didn't do anything to Paige, she somehow managed to destroy her and Emily's relationship. The real reason why Emily wanted Santana away was because she wanted her to go before she started to like her, because she knew as soon as she did, something will happen to her.

The smaller brunette got up and looked at her friend sympathetically. She made her way closer to her and hugged her tight. She held her there for a long time, actually… When she parted her body from Emily's she held her hands and looked her in the eye, with a serious expression. "I am not leaving." She assured her. "I'm not leaving you, Emily."

Emily looked up to her friend, still teary eyed. Santana cleaned her tear with her thumb and smiled. "Can I ask you a question, now?" San asked softly. "What did A do to you, exactly?"

The swimmer searched in her head for things A had done to her. "Well, drugged me… Twice, at least. Her team made me think I dug Ali's grave… And most recently I got a massive bruise in my shoulder because she tried to run over my friends." She sighed.

Santana's eyes widened a bit. "Her _team_? So there are more people in this."

Emily nodded. "There's a group of people in this… They're the A team. And then there's Red Coat, the one who's in charge…"

The Latina stopped to think for a while, processing everything. Suddenly other of her questions crossed her head "What did Spencer mean when she said you weren't sure if Alison was dead?"

The taller brunette got a little bit uncomfortable with that question. "Well… They think they saw her, this one time, wearing the red coat…"

Santana nodded, understandingly. She looked down at her hands, still holding her friend's. Even though it was hot outside, she didn't mind the interaction, at all. She let go a long sigh, her eyes never leaving their hands. Emily started to feel more comfortable around her, and looked down as well. She smiled a bit to herself, biting her bottom lip as she stared.

"Why do you care about me?" Santana asked in a lower voice, still looking at their intertwined fingers.

"Why are you so stubborn that you don't want to go away?" Emily asked too.

Santana looked up at Emily's eyes. "I actually live in a 'dangerous' part of Lima…" she started. "A lot happened to me already, and I grew up and learned to defend myself." She stated, sounding strong and sure. "So I'm not letting anyone ruin my summer by scaring me away."

Emily felt bad for Santana. She could feel that it was sort of a soft matter, and that it wasn't the right time to ask anything about it… So she nodded. Everything went quiet again between them, as they stood in the middle of the clear, holding hands. The birds sang in the trees, and the sun kept shining bright, as it should in a beautiful summer day. As Santana looked up to Emily again, her eyes sparkled. Suddenly she felt nervous, in a way she hadn't in a long time. She knew what she wanted to do… But should she? As Emily looked back at her, the sun shining on her hair and skin, Santana lost it. She reached to Emily, closing her eyes, and placed a soft kiss on her lips. Emily was surprised, though she didn't pull back. She wanted to do it too, since she'd seen Santana for the first time. As they kissed, the swimmer could taste Santana's cherry lipstick. She felt the Latina's hands moving to the back of her neck, as she pulled her closer. The kiss lasted longer than any expected it too, and when they finally pulled back, they had to take a deep breath.

"Wow" Emily said, still catching her breath.

"_Wow_" Santana agreed, smiling widely.

* * *

**AN**: Well guys, here is chapter 5! I'm glad everyone seems to be enjoying the fic, so far! If you thought it was good until now, just wait! Summer is long, and we can have _a lot_ of fun... Again, I appreciate all the reviews and I would like to know what you think will happen, now that Santana knows about A... Will Emily and Santana get together, or this was just a one-time thing? What kind of things did Santana went through, back in Lima? All the questions will be answered sooner or later, so keep following this! Hugs, and hope everyone has a nice day!


	6. Chapter 6

It was three o'clock in the afternoon. After the moment she had with Emily, both walked around the woods for a while, quietly. When they decided to return home, they spent about five minutes in the doorway, just looking at each other, smiles on their faces. And then, they finally went inside. Santana finished her lunch and then went upstairs. She turned on her laptop and sat on her bed, turning Skype on. As soon as she did so, Quinn Fabray initiated a video conversation with her.

"Hey? Santana, can you hear me?" Quinn questioned, testing her computer's mic. The blonde's hair was done in a side braid that came down her shoulder, and she wore a large pink top with the word 'DIVA' written on it, in black. She also had light jean shorts on. The girl was laying stomach-down in her own bed.

"Hi Q, yes I can hear you." Santana said, sitting on her bed. She placed a pillow behind her, leaning her back against the wall. The brunette placed the laptop on top of her and adjusted the camera. She smiled at the sight of her friend.

Quinn returned the smile. "How are you, Santana?" she questioned. Santana could hear Demi Lovato's "Heart Attack" playing quietly in Quinn's room.

"I'm fine, what about you, girl?" she asked, her eyes never leaving her friend. "Too hot in there?"

"Yeah I am, and yes! It's like 107º _inside_." The blonde said. "I can't even imagine how it is outside… what about in there?"

Santana had to check on her computer. "105º…" she replied "Not a big difference… Okay babe, tell me news, how's everything and everyone?"

"Well…" Quinn started, making herself more comfortable. "Rachel keeps asking for you, obviously… I haven't heard of Kurt, yet… Nor Finn… Or Blaine... Sam's home with his siblings, Puck is home playing videogames, Mercedes is at Tina's, I don't know where Mike is, Brittany is home too, Artie went with his mom somewhere… And well, I'm here" she smiled again. "Even though I wish I wasn't… What about you? Any news?"

Santana shrug "Not really… I met Emily's friends today… They seem cool. Everyone in here dresses extremely well, though! It's unbelievable… And my parents went to the coffee, not a long time ago, so I'm extremely bored."

"Gosh, I wish I was there… I am _so_ bored. Everyone is doing something or going somewhere or just too damn busy to pick the phone or come over." She complained. Santana hadn't noticed until then that Sarah had a bag of chips right next to her, and was devouring them.

"Geez Q, stop eating those chips like the world is about to end." Santana said, widening her eyes.

"Sorry, but there's literally nothing else to do other than eating." The blonde shoved another hand full of chips in her mouth, and Santana rolled her eyes. "Come on Santana; tell me like everything, every detail of today… Entertain me."

The brunette sighed. "You really want to know _everything_? I had a pretty long day, you know?" As Quinn nodded, Santana started to tell her friend how her day went. "So, I got up. I took a shower, talked with Rachel on the phone – I honestly don't know why she bothered you, though… Had breakfast, then Emily and Hanna arrived."

Quinn cut her speech. "Who?" she questioned. Santana still hadn't told her anything about her new friends, and Quinn was starting to feel like she was being put aside.

"Oh, you'd love them. Hanna is like super funny, and Emily is my neighbor." Santana said and glanced over the window. Unfortunately, Emily wasn't in her room. "She lives right next door." She continued.

"Hum… Can you describe them, or do you have any pictures?" the blonde inquired her friend.

"I think so, hold on…" Santana said as she opened her Facebook. She had a couple of friend requests, and between them there were the girls'. She accepted them all and rushed to send Quinn pictures of both.

"Okay, I approve" Quinn smiled at the screen."You can continue."

"We went to Spencer's house" before Quinn could say anything, she sent her a photo of Spence "and I met her and Aria." And as she finished, she also sent a photo of Aria. "We hung out in there for a while, just getting to know more about each other and eating… It was cool" obviously, she decided to jump the A thing… There was no need to get Quinn involved.

"Just that? Well, still more productive than my day, but still…" The blonde said, finally putting the chips to the side.

"Well, then Hanna took us home, and Emily and I went for a walk…" Santana said, growing quieter, not looking Quinn in the eye.

Quinn, obviously, noticed. She knew Santana as well as Hanna knew Emily, but she pretended she didn't notice. "A walk? Where?" she questioned the brunette who shifted nervously in her place.

"To the woods." She said, trying to sound as normal as possible, even though a grin kept trying to form on her face. "We walked there from here… It's not that far. She knew this very cool clear somewhere in it, and it was honestly the freshest place I've been on the entire day."

Quinn made an _uhum_ sound, while she waited for Santana to keep going. Santana knew what she was trying to do. "So, that friend of yours, Emily…" she started. "A little bird told me she's lesbian, right?" The blonde asked, tilting her head slightly to the side.

Santana sighed. "That 'little bird' happens to be named Rachel, right?" she said. Quinn nodded and Santana sighed even harder.

"Come on, what happened in the woods? And tell me the truth, Santana."

"You're such a pain in the ass, you know that? You've been learning it from Dwarf." Santana said, crossing her arms.

Quinn took a while before answering with a simple "Yeah, maybe…" she motioned for Santana to continue. "So…?"

"_So_, we were at the woods, talking about things that you don't need to know, and we sort of kissed…" Santana said, the last words coming in an almost inaudible sound.

"You _what_?!" Quinn screamed. "Santana, you _just_ went there, _you_ just met that girl, what the hell were you thinking about when you kissed her?!" However, Quinn's voice didn't sound like she was scolding Santana for the kissing Emily. It sounded more like she actually wanted the answer for those questions.

"I _kissed_ Emily." Santana said slowly, like Quinn didn't hear her well the first time. "And she kissed me back… And I don't know what I was thinking, I just felt like doing it…" Santana said, honestly. "We're not dating though, just like you said, I _just_ came here." Santana added in her thoughts '_But it wouldn't be a bad idea, at all…_'

Quinn was taking a while to assimilate everything. "Okay then." She said. "You have to keep me informed, though, you heard me? Like, really, call me whenever you want to. Honestly." The blonde laughed. "Don't forget, I'm happy as long as you are." She smiled. "Unless it's a pretty dumb idea, in that case I'll probably go over there and slap you." She laughed and Santana did the same.

Quinn's mom called her from outside the door. "Quinn, you have to go to your aunt's now, she needs you to babysit your cousins, so hurry, okay?"

"Okay mom, give me a few minutes!" Quinn said as she sighed. She didn't mind to babysit her little cousins; she just _really_ didn't want to get out. She turned back to Santana. "I got to go, San… Just, don't forget to keep calling, okay? I'm like 300 miles away, but that doesn't mean I stopped caring, you know?"

Santana smiled back at her friend. "I know Q… And you know you're still my best friend, right? No one can replace you – ever."

Quinn smiled inside. "I know, San. You're my best friend too. But I really have to go now, so bye! I love you!" the blonde said as she blew a kiss to the computer.

Santana did the same and waved bye. "Love you too, Q! See you!"

The girls finished their call and Santana got up to put her laptop by her desk. She turned around, leaning against it, as she looked blankly around her room. Then she glanced over her window, only to find out Emily was now in her room. She was laying stomach-down in bed, listening to her iPod, her eyes closed. Santana smiled and felt herself blushing slightly. She turned back to her computer, and opened iTunes, putting it on shuffle and letting the songs play. She sang along with the songs while walking around her room, only to fall on her bed a couple of minutes later. She laid in there for a while, and all she could think was the kiss. How Emily's lips had felt soft and warm on hers, and how she _loved_ the taste of her cherry lipstick. How they walked home holding each other's hands, having their fingers intertwined. How Emily's laugh sounded just like the most beautiful song, after Santana told her that joke.

And then, Santana thought of A. All of the sudden, a feeling of rage hit her. She could _never_ walk around peacefully, knowing there was a target on her back. She couldn't shake the feeling that there was someone, out there, hurting people – _murdering_ people. And that she and all her new friends were living targets for this A person, whoever it was. Santana clenched her fists in her pillow. '_This isn't right_.' She said to herself. '_I am not going to be scared of walking on the street_.' The brunette kept repeating those words in her mind. She knew there was only one way to end things. She knew she had to help the girls hunt A down. '_Seems like I just made myself some plans for this summer…'_

* * *

**AN:** Hey guys! Once again, sorry for taking so long to update... But yeah, here it is! Seems like all the fun is about to start, for Santana... (She just won't give up, will she? Well, maybe when she gets hurt she'll learn a lesson...) Also, will Quinn be paying a visit to Rosewood? She might! Also, it seems like Santana has some feelings going on for Emily... And I'm sure A won't like that. Cats may seem out of the bag, but Santana still has some secrets she's keeping from anyone! Seems like if you want answers, you'll have to stick around! Again, I hope you've been enjoying this as much as me! Hugs and love, from yours truly.


	7. Chapter 7

The sun was shining bright, that morning. As its rays passed through the blinders hitting Santana's eyes, the brunette slowly started to wake up. It had been a couple of days since she'd seen everyone, since her parents thought they needed some family time. They would leave home early in the morning and spend the day walking around the town, or going to the mall, or, her father's favorite, golfing, returning home just to have dinner and sleep. She was glad she finally had got the chance to sleep 'till late.

She had nothing planned for the day, so she was thinking she'd probably stay in her room listening to music or reading all day, or maybe even watch TV in the living room with her mom. Slowly, she made her way out of bed and grabbed her phone, which was resting on her desk. She hadn't talked to Emily since they had kissed, and she started to wonder if Emily didn't feel the same way about her, or if A had texted her anything, just like she did with Santana. Though, thinking about it, Santana hadn't texted Emily either. Santana scrolled down her phone list until she reached Emily's number and messaged her.

Sent (10:35): Hi Em, it's San are you up?

The brunette put the phone on her desk, going towards the window to pull the blinders up. As soon as she finished pulling them up, she heard her phone buzz and went for it.

Received (10:36): Hey San! Yep, I am. Go to your window, okay?

Santana did so and went over to her bedroom's window, where she could see a very happy Emily looking over from her own bedroom. The Latina smiled and opened the window.

"Hi!" Emily said cheerfully from the other side. "How are you?"

Santana completely forgot that all she was wearing was an over-sized 'I Love New York' t-shirt and bright-pink boxers, which the shirt covered. She sat on the chair near the window, and replied. "I'm fine, what about you?"

Emily leaned against the window frame. "I'm great." She smiled. Her hair was tied in a messy ponytail that fell to one side.

"Sorry I haven't talked to you since the other day… My parents have been crazy about 'family time' and I didn't even have the time to text you…" She admitted, lowering her head.

"It's okay" the swimmer shrugged it off. She was wearing a blue Rosewood Sharks T-shirt and white sleeping shorts. "Are you going anywhere today, or have anything planned?" she questioned the brunette, truly hoping she would say no.

"No, not really… Why?" she smiled. She'd totally give up her plans of doing absolutely nothing, if that meant she'd be with Emily.

"Well, there's this place I'd like you to see." Emily said, smiling back. "Though you have to bring a swimsuit or something."

Santana raised a curious eyebrow. "And where are we going, exactly?" she questioned, smirking.

"Well, if I told you it wouldn't be a surprise, would it?" the swimmer replied, returning the smirk.

"Okay, fine, when are we going, though?" Santana said, resting her chin on the window.

"If you want we can go now… We can be home before lunch, or we can take something to eat and stay there…"

"Okay then" the brunette smiled excitingly. "Give me fifteen minutes and I'll be ready." She said, getting up from the chair.

Emily smiled back. "Okay San, see you in a few!"

Both girls got off the window and then Santana started looking for where she'd put her bikinis. She went through all the drawers in the room until she found them, choosing a black one. Then she rushed to the bathroom, almost tripping because of the carpet, and started getting herself ready. She took a quick shower and made sure there was not a single hair in her legs, then she slid into her bikini, and later to her clothes.

Meanwhile, Emily had done the same, though instead of a black bikini she was wearing a blue one. She went downstairs and started to pack some things for them to eat and drink while they were out – like sandwiches, juices and water bottles. Her mom, Pam, happened to have left the house early that day, so she wrote her a note saying she'd be out and left it in the counter. As she exited her house, she was greeted by Santana who was just walking towards her door. Both girls smiled as they shared a quick 'hello' hug. Santana had a medium-sized bag with her, and so did Emily.

"I see you brought food too." Emily said sweetly as she raised the bag in her hand and giggled.

Santana let out a little laugh as well. "Yeah, I did!"

Em turned to the car parked in front of her house. "Let's go?" she said to the waiting Latina who quickly followed her to the car, no words needed since her smile said it all.

The car ride wasn't exactly long, especially since Santana's attention was on the shades of green on the trees that had been surrounding them since five minutes after they begun their little trip. About twenty minutes after driving through the road, Emily drove through a smaller dirt road, stopping the car in a clear, somewhere in the woods. The girls exited the car and made the rest of their way on foot. Santana still had no idea whatsoever to where Emily was taking her, but she kept following the taller brunette as she lead them to the place where they'd end up spending their afternoon.

The trees seemed to be less as they kept walking, until they finally reached a river. Santana took a moment to absorb the view – there was a stoned bridge which appeared to be really old, filled with moss, but other than that, it seemed like no one had been there for ages. _Beautiful, gorgeous, amazing_ were the words crossing Santana's mind, in that moment. She had started to realize Emily liked nature, since both places where she'd met her alone were in the middle of nowhere.

"Emily, this is beautiful!" Santana exclaimed in awe, placing her bag on the floor.

Emily smiled proudly and placed a towel she'd brought from home on the floor, placing their bags on top of it. Santana had taken her shoes off and was now near the water, dipping her toes in the river. The water was freezing cold, contrasting with the extremely hot weather they were having.

"You want to go in?" Emily asked, having moved herself to Santana's side.

"This is like freezing cold, but yes, I want." The brunette said with a laugh.

Emily giggled and shook her head, returning to the towel. Santana stared at the water for a little longer, and when she turned around Emily was taking off her clothes, leaving herself only on her blue bikini, which caused her to smirk a little. She walked towards the towel as well, removing her clothes, which slid right off her olive skin. Emily noticed her too… And obviously, Santana wasn't teasing her… at all.

The swimmer was the first one to get in the water, not thinking twice before jumping in. She splattered Santana, accidentally, and the Latina squeaked.

"That's cold, Emily!" She said, slowly getting in the water and throwing some at Emily.

Their bodies started to adjust to the temperature of the water, as they float on the river. The water wasn't moving much, so they didn't have to worry about being taken away by the river. Santana wanted to prove she was a good swimmer too, so she raced Emily to the bridge and back. Emily shook her head, but did it, though she made them tie on purpose. As they stayed near the bridge, Emily felt a certain urge to speak.

"So, about the other day…" She started shyly, her eyes locked on the little fish swimming near them.

Santana straightened herself a bit, feeling kind of uneasy. She was scared of whatever Emily was about to say.

"I wanted to know what we are… _If_ we are something." She said quietly, playing nervously with her fingers underneath the water.

"I… I'm not sure…" Santana said as nervously. "If you want to, I think we could give it a try." She continued. "Look… Last year I came out of this really great relationship because of distance, and I'll only be here for summer… I'm not making plans or anything, but I think we could really give us a chance… I care about you, Emily."

"I care about you too, Santana." The swimmer replied, finally looking up to meet the Latina's eyes. "And I would like to give us a chance, even if it's just a summer thing… And I know we don't know each other for long, but from the moment we almost bumped into each other that I felt something, you know?"

Santana knew. She had felt an instant connection with Emily since the moment she met her too. The brunette took a deep breath and took a step in Emily's direction, her feet stepping the soft rocks under the water. Her nervousness slowly started fading away, and in her face a smile was placed. Their eyes met once again, as the swimmer felt Santana's small hands on her waist. She smiled at Santana, biting her lip nervously as their eyes explored each other's. Slowly, Santana reached to Emily, placing a gentle kiss on her lips. One of Emily's hands drifted through Santana's back, pulling her gently, while the other was cupping her face. They broke the kiss, only to kiss again, not so gently anymore. Santana's arms were around Emily's neck, and both Emily's hands were now together and her arms squeezed Santana's hips, a bit. Emily's cherry lipstick tasted _so_ well, Santana just wanted to devour her. Both girls smiled into every kiss, as their bodies came closer together. Everything was completely perfect, and there was no place else they'd rather be. If only they knew they were being watched…

Emily's phone buzzed, even though she didn't hear it buzzing – she was too busy…

Received (11:27): Emily, Emily, seems like you haven't learned your lesson, yet… Everyone that you kiss ends up HURT. Seems like history will have to repeat itself… We don't want the same thing that happened to Maya happening to Santana, right? Kisses – A.

* * *

**AN:** Well, hello! Thought you could use a little sweetness. Seems like Emily and Santana are happy - even though we know happiness never lasts... And A doesn't like people to go against her orders. Someone might get_ hurt_! Will the girls say anything about this to their friends, or they'll decide to keep it a secret? By talking of secrets - which is Santana's? Many questions will be answered sooner or later, if you just wait and stick around! Once again, thank you for all the reviews! I've been having a great time writing! Much love to all of you, and if you ever feel like I'm taking too long to update, you can spam me on tumblr (at gorgeousladydi) until I come over and write!


	8. Chapter 8

Friday afternoon, Aria, Hanna and Spencer were walking around Rosewood. It had been a few days since they last seen Santana, and they had started wondering if the whole A thing had scared her. Emily hadn't stop talking about her though, so they knew she was okay. They had just picked up milkshakes at their favorite coffee, and as they were crossing the street, Spencer felt the need to speak.

"Why did A brought Santana to this, anyway?" she questioned. "I mean, she sent her texts even before she met all of us."

The liars took a few seconds to think, before Aria spoke up. "Maybe A has something on her? Or she has something on A?"

"Or A thinks Santana is a threat, for her…" Hanna added quietly.

"Maybe we should consider… You know, bringing Santana to the team. For some reason, A doesn't like her, and we should find out why." Spencer said. "But in the meantime, it wouldn't harm to have more help…"

"I'm not sure Emily would like that." Hanna interrupted. "She doesn't want Santana in the middle of this… I'm sure there's something going on between them." She took a sip from her milkshake and eyed the girls who were staring at her. Suddenly she felt like she should've had kept quiet.

"Emily and Santana?" Spencer said, looking at Hanna who was trying to hide behind her milkshake. "I mean, we all knew it would happen, but… already?"

"And why didn't she tell us?" Aria questioned, sounding hurt.

"She didn't even tell me, I had to figure it out!" Hanna said. "Maybe she wants to keep it a secret so A won't find out?"

"A will find out…" Aria sighed, playing with her straw. "She always does…"

They all nodded and kept walking, starting to make their way towards their cars. As much as they enjoyed their afternoons together, everyone had plans for the end of the day: Aria had to take care of her brother Mike, even though he could take care of himself; Spencer was meeting Toby for one of their secret investigations – Toby was still searching for who killed his mom; and Hanna was going to meet Caleb at her place, for dinner. The girls said their goodbyes, tossing their empty cups into the trash, and got in their cars, each going their way.

* * *

Hanna parked her shiny gray Mercedes at her driveway, and got out of it. She made her way to the door, which opened before she even touched it. She smiled widely once she saw who was on the other side.

"Caleb!" she exclaimed, hugging him tightly.

Caleb had to take a step back to steady himself, before taking Hanna in his arms. "Hey!" he said. "Thought I'd come earlier to get this dinner going."

Hanna smiled and gave him a quick kiss on the lips, before closing the door behind her. She made her way to the kitchen, leaving her purse on the counter. She grabbed a stool and sat, watching as Caleb made dinner. She loved when he cooked for her.

"How was your day?" he asked.

"It was okay." She replied. "We had shakes and talked… We're thinking about bringing Santana to the team, but I don't know…"

Hanna had talked with Caleb about Santana over the phone not two days ago, and he wasn't surprised about what she had just said. He had started going after A when he met Hanna, and he was sure Santana would want to be on the team, for the same reason he did – to protect a loved one. Hanna had asked him to do a little background search on Santana, just in case, and nothing bad had turned out, so they knew they could trust her.

"I think it's a great idea." He finally said. "The more people know and fight A, the better, right?"

"Yeah, I guess so…" the blonde said, unsure. Back when they started dating, she didn't want Caleb to know about A either, because she thought A would end up hurting him. As the time passed, Hanna's worries started to fade, and Caleb had found out a lot of things that had helped the girls. She tried her best to shake the thought out of her mind, and Caleb placed a plate in front of her.

"Have you heard about Mona?" he questioned.

"Yeah, she's at Radley…" Hanna sighed. She still didn't know why Mona had gone to the cops and said she was the one shooting detective Wilden, even though it wasn't true. Hanna was glad she did, though, because it meant she had her mom back.

"Han, I know what you're thinking…" Caleb started, putting some food on her plate. "And I'm glad Mona took the bullet for you… But she is insane, I mean, it's the second time she's in Radley. The cops know she didn't kill Wilden, yet they sent her there, that must mean something, no?"

Hanna rolled her eyes, playing with the food with her fork. "Let me guess, you don't want me to see her." She sighed. "You already know that's just not going to happen, Caleb… sorry."

Caleb sighed heavily. He knew that spending half an hour giving Hanna reasons not to visit Mona wouldn't work, and she would visit her anyways. It had happened several times, and it would happen again. They finished dinner within 30 minutes, and spent another 30 cleaning the kitchen and talking, until Caleb had to leave.

* * *

It was almost 11:45pm when Caleb grabbed his phone and texted Santana. While he was doing a background check on her, he had gotten her number. After Hanna and he had talked, he was convinced Santana would love to join the group, and would want to take A down as much as they did.

Sent (11:43): Hey Santana. You don't know me, but I'm Hanna's boyfriend, Caleb. We need to talk.

Received (11:44): Hi Caleb. Sure, about what?

Sent (11:46): The girls have been wanting to ask you if you'd want to join the team so we can find out who A is, but they're scared of what Emily would think of it… We understand if you don't want to, but if you do let us know.

Caleb had to wait some stressful five minutes before his phone buzzed.

Received (11:51): Count me in.

* * *

**AN:** And we're back on track! As you may know, my computer died and I couldn't update for a while, so thank you for being so patient. I'm sorry this chapter is so small and doesn't have any Emtana interaction, but I promise it will be important for the following ones! Now that Santana is officially a part of the liars, she'll start digging and finding out more things about A - things that will get her in trouble... Seems like Santana and Emily won't be able to keep their relationship a secret! You just can't lie to your best friends, Emily, they know when you're into someone. Again, thank you for reading, following, favoriting and reviewing! You guys rock! I've been having a great time writing this, and I promise I'm not nearly done... Hugs!


	9. Chapter 9

Santana had to go through all her drawers until she finally found her phone's charger. It was Saturday morning, and she and Caleb had arranged to meet, this afternoon. She had just gotten a text from him to confirm if she could go, and she was about to reply when her phone went off. She plugged in the charger, and waited for a few minutes before she was allowed to turn her phone back on. As soon as it did, she sent a text to Caleb, confirming she'd be there.

As she put the phone to rest on the floor by the plug, the doorbell rang. She smiled a bit to herself, remembering she'd invited Emily to her place earlier yesterday, since her parents would be out. The brunette ran downstairs, not even caring that she was still in her pajama shorts and tank top, and opened the door. Sure enough, Emily was waiting for her on the other side.

"Hi!" Santana said excitingly, taking Emily's hand and pulling her inside. She rushed to close the door, giving the brunette a small peck on the lips.

Em smiled back "Hey! What's all the excitement for?" she asked.

"Well, we have the house for ourselves…" she smirked. "That's always a reason to be excited."

Emily returned the smile and kissed her longingly. As their lips parted, they looked at each other in the eyes, and smiled lovingly. There were no problems – no A taunting them, no parents bugging them every five minutes, no nothing. It was just the two of them, in Santana's quiet house.

The swimmer threw her arms around Santana's neck, while Santana placed her hands on Emily's hips, gently pulling her close. Small flashbacks from that time they were at the lake crossed her mind, and she smiled into every kiss. When she was with Emily, everything felt so… right. Brittany hadn't crossed her mind once since they started seeing each other. Rachel _finally_ had stopped with the daily phone calls, even though she still called every two or three days to check on Santana. She hadn't talked to Quinn in a while though, so she made a mental note to call her that night.

She finally let go of all of those thoughts, focusing on the amazing girl right in front of her. Emily's eyes sparkled with glee, and Santana could feel her heart beating faster. Their lips met once more, their tongues playing with each other. Without stopping the kiss, Santana started pulling the swimmer towards the living room, tripping when the back of her legs hit the couch.

Both girls started laughing, Santana remaining on the couch. She looked up at the taller brunette, took her hand on hers, and pulled her to her. Emily fell on top of the Latina and started to accommodate herself. They looked at each other and giggled, amazed by how comfortable they were. The swimmer slid one arm under Santana, pulling her closer as they kissed yet once more. San grabbed the end of Emily's shirt and started to pull it up, revealing her perfectly flat abdomen. She kept pulling it up, the swimmer offering no resistance, until she finally took it off. She took a moment to admire Emily's everything, from her cute belly button which Santana particularly loved, to the lace of her black bra, to the hair falling off her shoulders.

She bit her bottom lip, thinking about how lucky she was. Her hand moved to the back of Emily's neck, as she pulled her to a passionate kiss. Emily's hands started going lower on her, stopping at her lower back and hips. Santana could feel as the other girl's facial expression changed into a confused and concerned one.

"What's this?" She questioned, sitting on Santana's legs. Her hand rested on a little depression on Santana's lower back, something that certainly shouldn't be there.

Santana started growing uncomfortable. This was certainly _not_ something she'd like to discuss, right now. Or ever.

"It's nothing." She replied, even though it wasn't true.

"San…" Emily said in a you-can-tell-me-anything tone. "Come on, we promised we wouldn't keep secrets from each other."

The brunette could see the concern in her friend's face, and she sat straighter, Emily sliding off her legs and to the couch. She shifted on the couch, turning her back to the swimmer, and pulled her shirt up a bit. There _was_ a depression in the Latina's body, just as Em had felt, as well as a little scar. Emily started wondering how she didn't notice it, when they were in the river… And worse – what had happened for Santana to have that scar in there.

"What…" Emily started, but Santana cut her off.

"I was 8." She started. "When I was younger, well… We didn't exactly live in the best place… One time I was coming from school, and all of the sudden there were bullets everywhere." The brunette's voice started cracking, and Emily started to feel bad for having asked about it at all. "I felt like this huge pain in my back, and the next thing I remember is waking up in a hospital room, a week after." She finished, her eyes watery. As she looked back at Emily, a tear ran down her face.

The swimmer was truly speechless. Her heart felt tight – it was the first time she'd ever seen Santana cry. "I'm sorry," she apologized "I shouldn't have asked about it. I shouldn't have said anything at all." She said, as she shook her head, fighting back tears.

Santana swallowed dryly, cleaning the tears from her own face. "It's okay…" she said, her voice coming out as a whisper. "It's not your fault. You didn't know, and now you do. No secrets." The Latina said, forcing a smile.

Emily looked up at Santana and smiled back comfortingly. A few moments passed before she moved closer and hugged her, San burying her face on the swimmer's neck. They stood like that for a while until Emily put her shirt back on and fixed her ombré hair, and Santana pulled the TV's remote next to her. They cuddled on the couch for the rest of the morning, and Santana truly felt like a weight had been taken off of her shoulders. 'One less thing I have to hide from Emily.' She thought. In fact, the only thing she'd have to hide from Emily now on, would be what she was about to do next…

* * *

Later the same day, Santana found herself sitting at the Rear Window Brew, or The Brew, as everyone called it. Emily had mentioned she worked there, back when they were getting to know each other, though San didn't have to worry about her showing up, since the brunette was on vacations.

She gazed at every boy that crossed the front door, hoping he'd end up going over to her table and introduce himself as Caleb, but so far no luck. She did arrive fifteen minutes early though, so it was normal that he wasn't there yet.

The Latina sighed and grabbed her phone, which was placed on her table right next to her coffee. She scrolled down her contacts, coming to a stop once she reached Quinn's number. It had been a while since she had talked with her friend; she wondered what the blonde was doing. Last time they talked to each other, Q had sounded pretty bored. All of their friends were out with family, or hanging out with each other, and somehow Quinn didn't felt like she fit in with them. She didn't hesitate to push 'call', and it didn't take more than one _beep_ before her friend picked up.

"Hi!" Quinn chirped from the other side of the line.

"Desperate much, Q?" Santana asked, not meaning to sound bitch-like.

"I told you to keep calling and you didn't." The blonde said with a hint of disappointment in her voice.

Santana sighed. "I'm sorry, Q… I've been kind of busy… You love it here, though!" she said, trying to change the way the conversation was going. "You should visit, sometime."

"I would love to, but I don't know…"

"Oh, come on. You're either stuck at home or baby-sitting, and I'm home alone 75% of the time! My parents love you, they wouldn't mind." Santana said, meaning every word. She did enjoy her time alone with Emily, but she also missed her friend.

As the girls kept chatting, a guy stood over the edge of the table, and it took Santana a couple of seconds before she looked up and noticed him. The boy had kind of a long hair, dark brown eyes and a smile on his face. It could only be Caleb, right?

"Look Q, I have to go, talk to you later. Love you, bye!" and she hung up, not even waiting to hear the blonde's reply.

"You look better in real life than through camera lens." He said, to Santana's confusion. Then a little light snapped on, in her brain: Hanna had said Caleb was good with computers – maybe the girls had him investigating her? And who could blame them, really – no one was safe. Caleb's hand stood still, waiting for Santana's hand shake, which she gave him as soon as she noticed. "I'm Caleb." He finally said.

"Santana." She replied immediately after. "So, you're Hanna's boyfriend, right?"

He nodded. "Yes. And you're Emily's girlfriend, right?" he watched as she nodded too. Both of them chatted for a while about everything: from the beautiful town of Rosewood, to their girlfriends, passing by their background… But for some reason Caleb kept avoiding all the questions related to whoever was tormenting the girls. "Can I just ask you something?" he finally said. "Why do you want to do this? I mean, you can just pack your things and go away… Why don't you?"

The brunette looked thoughtful for a while, trailing the edge of her coffee mug with her pointer finger. "For the same reason you did. For _her_."

* * *

**AN:** I know you guys probably wanna kill me, but this is why I took so long to update: I've been having some amazing weeks, and after that some really really crappy ones, and I knew that if I opened word to start working it wouldn't end up well... I'm sorry I took so long, but here it is! So, what you think will happen next? I already have all my ideas written down, but I love to know yours! Maybe they'll even change mine! Seems like Quinn is coming to Rosewood, after all, doesn't it? And what did you thought of that Emily/Santana moment in the beginning of the episode? Do you think it's a smart move of Santana's to go after A? All the questions will be answered! Thank you for being so patient, thank you for all the faves, follows and reviews! You guys rock!


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